NCAAB

18
North Carolina
Tar Heels
(8-3)

Texas
Longhorns
(10-0)

18
North Carolina

Texas

Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - Senior Damion James scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, as second-ranked Texas kept its undefeated record intact with an impressive 103-90 victory over No. 10 North Carolina in the first hoops game played at the new Cowboys Stadium.

Dexter Pittman, also a senior, bolstered the win with 23 points and 15 boards for the Longhorns (10-0), who have now racked up over 100 points in three of their last four victories.

J'Covan Brown checked in with 21 points and five rebounds, while Avery Bradley added 20 points.

Ed Davis had 21 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for the defending national champions. Tyler Zeller posted 16 points and Marcus Ginyard finished with 13 points, five boards and four assists

The Tar Heels (8-3) can now count all three of their losses this season against top-five foes, having also lost to Syracuse and Kentucky. Dexter Strickland added 12 points and five assists to the loss.

Texas got to the line for 34 free throw attempts, making 24, compared with UNC's 11-of-19 showing from the charity stripe. The Longhorns won the battle of the boards handily with a 60-41 advantage.

"Two really big keys to the game: they have 60 rebounds, we have 41; they outscored us 27-11 on the backboards. My teams have always been really good rebounding teams but Texas killed us on the boards. Dexter Pittman kicked our tail by himself. He and Damion (James) had 30 rebounds by themselves," said North Carolina coach Roy Williams. "We always made a living getting the ball inside and getting to the free throw line and they shot 34 free throws and we shot 19. You can't do those kinds of things."

James' layup less than a minute into the second half had Texas in front by 16, 57-41. But North Carolina began to claw its way back, and a quick 8-0 spurt capped by David Wear's three-pointer saw the margin dwindle to 65-56 less than five minutes in.

James and Brown kept the Longhorns in front, though, combining to score 13 consecutive points over a four-minute stretch. Ginyard sank a jumper and knocked down a three right at the end of the run to cut the lead under double digits for UNC at 80-71 midway through.

After Pittman answered with a dunk on the other end, the Tar Heels scored seven straight points to get within 82-78 on a Ginyard bucket with seven minutes remaining.

James responded by completing a conventional three-point play and Pittman's ensuing slam pushed Texas' lead back to nine. That started a game-clinching stretch for the Longhorns as Pittman converted a three-point play to finish off a 14-5 run for a 96-83 advantage with under three minutes left.

Davis came back with a bucket for UNC, but Bradley connected on a three- pointer to grow the lead to 14, and Texas was able to play out the final two minutes with relative ease.

"In the second half we weren't very good defensively and they pretty much got what they wanted. You know what they're doing. They're very unselfish and they know what they're looking for," said Texas coach Rick Barnes. "We did some good things, they did some good things. It's a December game. If both teams can continue to grow, both teams have a chance to have a terrific year."

The game remained tight in the first half with Brown's three-pointer 7 1/2 minutes in had Texas ahead 17-14. Wear's three-ball less than two minutes later saw UNC take the lead at 21-19 and a Bradley triple with 9:10 to go tied the game at 25.

The Longhorns put some distance between themselves and the Tar Heels with a 10-1 stretch. James scored five straight points to spark the run and a Bradley layup provided a 41-35 lead with 3:24 left. Texas furthered its advantage heading into the break, scoring the final six points and holding a 54-41 lead entering the second half.